Swapped axles snapped
 

I went to advanced auto parts and purchased two remanufactured front axles for the svx. Then, had a friend (subaru tech) swap them out for me. For the first couple of days, there was a rattle and shake at about 40mph, but the shaking stopped when you took your foot off the accelerator and then put it back on. So....I'm drinving to work today and one of the axles completely snaps. Anyone else have any problems with rebuilt axles? A couple of guys from hondatech have informed me that rebuilt axles from aap are not good (lasting 30 min to 3 weeks). What to do????

Snapped axles
 

Advance Auto Part lists the wrong axles for the AWD. They recently gave me one that was 1/2 inch too short. Did you measure them?

did you measure the actually metal stock? The axles push into the boots......

nope
 

Didnt measure anything. Figured i could trust that moron behind the counter for some reason... plus i had a subaru tech doing the work for me. My luck is terrible. So now my legacy is down w/ a broken axle, and my svx is down w/ a broken axle & im driving my dads 96 toyota avalon, boring. The plan as it stands right now is to fix the legacy on saturday morning & the svx on monday after work. The guys over on hondatech were real serious about never touching axles from advance auto parts and I'm with 'em.

i and many others have never had problems with them. If anything the cv joints may fail prematurely but thats after a year of driving.... To be honest it sounds like a bad axle to start with or someone botched the install.

Tom

Aspects of this problem are rather confusing as it would appear that the actual axle shaft failed, rather than the CV joint. Confirmation in this regard would therefore be much appreciated.

The rattle and shake would indicate a problem with the CV joint or possibly misalignment. For the shaft to break one would expect the latter, as bending stresses or torque would be involved.

Could there be allied circumstances in respect of your two cars, e.g. dare I agree with Tom and suggest the work of your friend? :confused: ;):)

Compressed.
The listing says 1992 and FWD. Most everyone here knows there is something wrong about that.

I've been driving Subarus since 1986 and have used aftermarket half-shafts exclusively (installed by a pro) with no premature failures, certainly nothing like complete and sudden breakage.

dcb

Does that really matter??? I'd rather them list the FWD half shafts because they are known to be a bit more stout that the AWD.... You are just splitting hairs is you are saying they list them as 92 FWD axles

Tom

I'm telling you they were too short. There's no hair to split.

how, because they were listed as FWD axles?? Not a chance. If it was a SUBY axle, it fit just fine. If there was a mix-up on the box and the part in it... then thats a different story... People don't need to buy more expensive axles because someone installed the wrong one and it broke....

Tom

There is definitely a problem in the axle aftermarket. I had a replacement axle installed in my "commuter car" ('96 Sentra) that was actually "too short" to the point that ATF would drain out when you parked on any surface other than one perfectly level. The shop replaced it for free with one that was the correct length.
-Bill

I didn't make any such suggestion and you are making that leap on your own. Nothing I said disagrees with your statement. I subsequently purchased a rebuilt axle from RockAuto, which is the correct length.

The part # in the listing and on the box matched. It looked like a good fit except it was too short. I don't pretend to know what went wrong, or whether it was an isolated error or not. I was suggesting that if 'downforcetom' received the wrong part from Advance Auto, that might account for it's early failure. Don't you agree?

BTW, Advance Auto is the best local after market source for parts around here, considering selection, price and availability. This is the only time I've received the wrong part, for any vehicle. It doesn't matter where one gets parts from, they should to be checked before installation.

I got my axles from Napa like a year ago....Still running fine :D

who knows?
 

So i talked w/ my friend today, and he swears up & down they were the right length, he's done svx axles before yada yada yada... and i believe him for some reason. In all honesty guys, i haven't even seen what they look like now. I got the car flatbedded to the cottman trans shop in my neighborhood, they said the axle snapped, not the cv joint. I then got it flatbedded to my parents place( for a grand total of $150 in towing) & we're gonna try some different axles on saturday morning. I just need to find them first. I'm almost tempted to be ghetto & do split boots on the old ones, just so i can get driving again.